CSK vs MI: Noor Ahmed or Vignesh Puthur – Who bowled the best spell?

The IPL El Clasico took place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) and it was the yellow brigade who emerged victorious on Sunday, beating their fierce rivals by four wickets at the end. Though the game got slightly tough towards the end, it was finally the Mumbai franchise that crumbled under pressure.

The game turned out to be a low-scoring affair and bowlers, especially spinners, dominated throughout the last-over thriller. The two bowlers who impressed on the day were the young left-arm wrist spinners Noor Ahmad (CSK) and Vignesh Puthur (MI).  

Noor Ahmad was the Player of the Match, who not only controlled the middle overs for the CSK team but also took some crucial wickets, ending with figures of 4/18 in his spell. The young debutante from Kerala, Vignesh Puthur was also impressive and kept the MI in the game with a spell of 3/32 in his full quota with the ball. But who bowled better? Let's discuss

Here are the criteria for comparison between the two bowling spells: 

1. Line and length

The line and length are very important for a bowler, especially in the shorter format. This is where both the bowlers get full marks. Both the bowlers stuck to their strengths. Noor being slightly quicker mixed up his line and length really well and made it tougher for the MI batters in the first innings. Puthur being slower through the air kept an attacking line and length as well, which led to CSK batters taking unnecessary risks. The young spinner made sure that he invited the batters to smack him over the top to claim the three wickets.

2. Variations and pace 

This criterion belongs completely to Noor, which made it difficult for the batters to pick. Noor’s wrong-un and leg spinner were already difficult to pick, and he variated his pace according to the situation and strength of the batters, which made him even tougher to score runs to. As a result, Puthur surely could not gain an upper hand in terms of mixing his pace and using variations to the best of his abilities.

3. Economy 

Economy rate is hard to maintain in the 20-over format, and this is another criterion where Noor excelled against MI. Noor only gave 18 runs in his four overs, ending with an economy of just 4.50 which is nothing short of being remarkable in the shortest format. Puthur also had a decent economy of 8.00 rpo, since he was bowling the tough overs of the game. Puthur only went for 17 in his first three overs, it was just the last over where he went for 15 runs, shattering his overall figures by some margin.